A US actress and dancer and her rapper husband have been found shot dead in their upmarket Los Angeles apartment in an apparent murder-suicide, reports say.

The bodies of Stephanie Moseley, who starred in the television show Hit the Floor and was a back-up dancer for Beyonce, and her musician husband Earl Hayes, an associate of professional boxer Floyd Mayweather jnr, were found in the bedroom of their apartment building early on Monday morning.

Actress and dancer: Stephanie Moseley starred in The Twilight Saga and backed up for Beyonce. Photo: Twitter

When police forced their way into the apartment they found one of the bedroom doors closed. The officers then heard a further two gunshots, before officers discovered the couple's bodies.

Tributes were pouring in on social media for Moseley, a dancer and actress in the television drama Hit the Floor, about a group of NBA cheerleaders. She also featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn and the 2012 film Mirror Mirror, featuring Julia Roberts.

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Her website said Moseley had also worked as a back-up dancer for high-profile singers including Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Chris Brown and Janet Jackson.

Fans were also paying tribute to Hayes, a member of Mayweather's Money Team who was also once signed to the boxer's record label, TMZ said. Last month Hayes posted a photo on Facebook from an LA Lakers game he was attending with Mayweather.

TMZ quoted unnamed law enforcement officials as saying police believed Hayes had shot Moseley before shooting himself. Hayes had accused Moseley of having an affair with a famous singer, the website said.

Burrel Wilks, a close friend of Hayes, told KTLA that the pair had been in the process of breaking up.

"The officers responded immediately, were able to contact the person who made that phone call, get some additional information and they made a decision at that point to make entry into the location," he said.

The officers who initially forced their way into the apartment retreated when they heard two further gunshots.

A SWAT team then entered the bedroom soon after and discovered the bodies, he said. A gun was recovered at the scene.